Final Confrontation
by WeasleyTwin2
Summary: It is Harry's Seventh and Final year at Hogwarts and Voldemort's evil reaches its peak.
1. Default Chapter Title

**Final Confrontation: Prologue-Part 3******

# The Whole Story~Edited 1

** **

By WeasleyTwin2

Oh my friends, my friends………

Don't ask me what your sacrifice was for

Empty chairs at empty tables ……..

Where my friends will sing no more.

From Les Miserables

"No! Not him…Let him go!"

My mind screamed in fear as the scene below us unfolded. What had gone wrong? Was this the end of all we once held dear? Where all our hopes and dreams now shattered like so much crystal glass.

I stretched out my hand trying to ward off the danger below but the gesture was futile.

"It's no use," said my companion, invisible behind me though I could feel him place a hand on my shoulder.

"Come. We must go." 

"We should tell them…warn them…" I said indicating the sleeping school below that lay surrounded by a spell of silence.

"What good would it do? We've tried all year to do so and not once were we heeded."

I bowed my head remembering all the warnings we'd tried to pass on to the others using any means open to us. Only Harry and a few others had realized what they meant but most chose to ignore them. 

"The fools…" I thought bitterly.

"But don't you think…" I began again.

"They'll know soon enough. Remember the security measures?"

I nodded not knowing what else to say.

"Still we must follow the boy, I think and save him if we can." 

I felt rather then saw the look of determination my companion wore.

"We are his only remaining guardians. The others…"

"Have been put out of reach," he finished for me.

"What if we cannot save him? " I had to ask, fearing the answer.

"We must! But if we cannot then we shall take him with us to a place where he will be safe forever and wait for rebirth," he said softly.

"And all will go to him," I said, gesturing after the dark cloaked figure retreating over the wall and into the night.

"Only for a time not all time. Come."

We followed and I wondered if things would ever be the same again.

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It was Harry's final year at Hogwarts and we who had set guardians around him waited anxiously. Everyone knew that a final confrontation between Harry and Voldemort was coming. It could be felt in the air, like a thunderstorm, making everyone tense and nervous. Some time this year things would change though for good or ill no one knew.

For six long years, while other guardians watched over him, we two searched for something, which would remove the terror of Voldemort from our lives forever. We had no more luck finding the answer then the many others before us. The answer, it seemed, lay within Harry and only he would be able end the terror by defeating Voldemort for all time.

For these past six years others had protected our last hope without him ever being aware of such protection. We had chosen his guardians for that reason. Dumbledore, McGonagall, Hagrid and even Snape agreed to take up the guardianship (though Snape loathed the idea). Even the Dursley's had a part to play though they knew nothing of it for if they had they would have refused. Voldemort could not find Harry or do him harm while he was at #4 Privet Drive.

Sirius Black was his final guardian though he guarded Harry from a distance. Though he had been cleared of the crime he'd been charged with and the Ministry was no longer after him, he still shunned people for the most part because most of them shunned him.Still he would do all he could for Harry and now he returned to Hogwarts several weeks before the start of term in his animagi form of a huge black dog. He hid himself deep in the Forbidden Forest and told no one except Hagrid that he was there. He had lived in fear for so long that it was hard to let it go even now.

We to return to guard Harry for we could watch him at all times, even while the others slept. Everything was in place and now we waited. Everyone could feel the tension in the air but tried to ignore it as the start of the term passed without incident.

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Harry was as happy as he had ever been in his life. He was Headboy and captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. His grades were looking good even though Professor Snape's potions class was called "a regular torture session" by almost the whole school, except the Slytherins. Gryffindor had completely trounced Slytherin in their first Quidditch match and were in the lead with 350 House Points. Friends surrounded him and we were so proud of him. What parents wouldn't be proud of such a son. We hovered nearby, invisible to all, happily watching over him and hoping we were all wrong about what was to come. The first sign that something was wrong happened during the Halloween feast a few weeks after the match with Slytherin. At first it seemed like it was nothing more then a prank on the part of some angry Slytherins, furious over their team's loss.

The Halloween feast in the Great Hall was in full swing. The Hall was decorated with orange and black streamers floating in midair. The ceiling showed a sky sprinkled with stars. Large pumpkins sat in piles glowing with an eerie red light. Everyone was talking loudly, calling back and forth between tables in excited voices. The most animated table was the Gryffindor table. Harry sat with his friends, Ron and Hermione, having a lively discussion with them. Several younger Gryffindors gazed at him with admiration, respect and not a little adoration for they all looked up to him. He was their hero, a white knight, who drove their fears away. Years had added a little height and had refined his features somewhat but he was still the same boy who had entered Hogwarts six years previous. His eyes were still bright green and they snapped and sparkled with life. His black hair was still untidy but now it looked as if it was that way on purpose. The lightening bolt scar, instead of fading with the passage of time as all scars do, reminded the same. It was a reminder to all that Harry had been the one who had broken Voldemort's power and that he was the one, some said, who could defeat the Dark Lord for all time.

The house ghosts were flying around and Dumbledore was just rising from his seat to give a speech when all the torches in the Great Hall and indeed all of Hogwarts were blown out by an intensely cold wind. The hall became pitch black in an instant. A few first years began to scream and cry while Dumbledore told everyone to remain calm. Around the room several prefects and Harry and Hermione murmured "lumos" and their wand cast a dim light around the cavernous room. About this time all the torches flickered for an instant and then glowed brightly once more. The Slytherins sat at their table smirking at the others as if they knew something about the whole thing but everyone else sighed with relief and went back to the feast. 

Only three people in the room noticed that before the torches became fully lit they had for a moment burned black. As Dumbledore, Harry and Hermione looked at each other over the crowd information seemed to pass between them. Of the three, only Harry thought he knew what it meant. Just before the torches were relit he thought he heard someone say, "I return" and felt for an instant a sharp pain radiate from his scar. Voldemort was somewhere nearby. Harry spent the remainder of the feast keeping careful watch but he saw nothing.

Several weeks' later messages began to appear on the walls all over Hogwarts. They were all variations on the same theme and where painted in some strange silver substance that could not be removed no matter how much magical cleaning solution was applied by Filch. The messages reminded everyone of the messages left by the Heir of Slytherin in Harry's second year. They were even written in the same silver substance as those messages. Dumbledore, Harry, Ron and Hermione agreed that their source was the same, namely Voldemort. This "rumor' was turned to fact when the most threatening message appeared within Harry own dormitory. The message dabbed on the ceiling above Harry's bed had appeared overnight as the five seventh year boys slept. It read:

THE HEIR RETURNS 

TO CLAIM HIS OWN

BEWARE POTTER

YOUR DAY IS DONE

No one could figure out how the messages appeared or how someone had even gotten into Gryffindor Tower to write that last. Gryffindor House was in an uproar and new security measures were instituted, as they had been five years previous.

It swiftly became impossible for anyone to concentrate. New and more threatening messages appeared around the castle. For every 24-hour period about 20 new messages would appear. Everyone carried fear in their hearts but tried not to show it. Students and teachers huddled in groups talking quietly and traveled the halls between classrooms in nervous groups. Teachers and prefects patrolled the halls, Harry among them, trying to instill a sense of security and to restore order. Yet despite all this Voldemort's messages were having the desired effect. Everyone became so afraid they could barely move. They began to look to Harry all the more. His courage shone like a beacon in the night. He seemed to be unafraid in the face of a possible attack from Voldemort. He went about his normal duties as if nothing was wrong, though inwardly he was deeply afraid. The others began to take heart from this display and everything returned to normal. Things remained calm all through the Christmas holidays and everyone returned with stronger spirits then when they had left. When several weeks went by without incident, everyone began to relax and even Harry heaved a sigh of relief. His scar was giving him no indication that Voldemort was still in the school. 

"We should have never relaxed our guard, " I thought as we followed the shadow before us.

===============================================================

One morning Harry woke up to a searing pain in his scar and a feeling of dread in his heart. He leapt from his bed, barely able to stumble down the stairs of his dormitory. He exited the tower and was making his way down the passage when he heard a strangled scream and low moaning. He sprinted down the hall, around a corner and skidded to a halt. His scar burned in his head causing his vision to blur. He grabbed the wall and closed his eyes a moment trying to clear his head. When his vision cleared he saw Prof. McGonagall slumped over a still, white-haired form. 

"Dumbledore? No…" said Harry, not quite daring to believe what his eyes were showing him.

He stumbled closer and fell to the floor at Dumbledore's side. McGonagall lifted a tearstained face to Harry. They stared at each other in pained silence for several minuets before she tried to speak.

"He… He thought someone was after him… He asked me… to put protective spells on him… I checked his own spells and told him they were fine. Now… he's gone," she said in a broken voice, tears streaming down her face.

"No!" Harry whispered. "It can be… Why him… Why not…"

McGonagall shook her head and Harry understood she had no answers to his unvoiced questions. With tears still falling from her eyes, she rose and lifted her wand to cast the spell to conjure a stretcher to carry the body of Dumbledore. Just as she did so Harry gasp and pointed to the wall behind where the body lay. McGonagall turned to see a new message scrawled on it in the same silver substance as before. It read:

THE HEIR HAS KILLED

ONE DEAR TO ALL

AND WITH THAT DEATH

ALL HOPE SHALL FALL

A voice began to whisper in Harry's mind. An evil, mocking voice that seemed familiar to him.

"Join me and live. Join them and die."

"I will not turn! Do you hear me Voldemort! I'll never join you!"

High, evil laughter resounded in his mind. He beat the floor while his eyes streamed tears that he could no longer hold back. He became aware of nothing but pain and grief and had cried for so long that he lost all track of time.

"Come Harry," he heard a voice say and looking up he saw Hermione and Ron looking at him with tearstained faces and red-rimmed eyes. 

Harry allowed himself to be lead away by them. They were halfway down the hall when Harry hear that voice in his head again.

"Alone," it whispered"You will die alone."

The voice slithered through his mind and he tried to ignore it as they moved farther down the hall but it kept repeating "alone". Then a searing pain shot through his scar, a blinding white light seared his vision and he slumped to the floor.

Several days later, when he awoke from his unconsciousness he learned several more messages been scrawled on walls all around Hogwarts, each worse then the last. Everyone's fear had returned tenfold and that fear now stalked Hogwart's halls. Students and teachers huddled together for protection against what was to come. Without Dumbledore everyone became paralyzed with fear and classes were canceled, as professors tried in vain to prepare for an attack they now knew was coming. Harry patrolled the halls with the school prefects again trying to calm everyone but the fear had taken over, crushing everyone's spirit. Even Harry's courage was failing him but he was determined not to fall prey to his fear even though Voldemort's voice taunted him every step of the way.

"See how they fear me. Fear is my weapon Potter. You cannot hope to oppose me. Soon I will come for you.''

"I will not fear you and I do not fear you," Harry thought fiercely and Voldemort's voice left him then.

Though Harry didn't believe for a moment that Voldemort had truly left him, he felt the faintest stirrings of hope. He continued to patrol the halls very often alone with only his two shadows to guard him. Everyone around him began to notice his courageous actions and it slowly began to restore the own courage. Soon the fear they had lived with daily began to subside and school resumed with everything restored to normal.

The fear of Voldemort's return once more began to ebb and everyone began to relax once more and to enjoy the remaining games of the Quidditch season. The final game of the year featured Gryffindor against Slytherin and, after a long game in which the two teams tried to bludger each other to death, Gryffindor won by a score of 280 to 150 securing both the House and Quidditch Cups for Gryffindor.

It was the night after this victory that Voldemort struck at the very pillar on which everyone's courage rested. No one knew or could even begin to figure out how Voldemort managed to spirit Harry away without setting off the alarms protecting the school.Their last hope, captured by Voldemort.The school discovered it soon after he left the grounds bearing away Harry. The alarms sounded and the glimmer of wand light picked out the message Voldemort left behind. 

ALL HOPE IS GONE

POTTER WILL JOIN ME 

OR HE WILL DIE

EITHER WAY I RISE AGAIN

" What will become of us now, " murmured McGonagall. 

"What hope have we now ……." 

We continued to follow Voldemort as he bore Harry farther and farther away from all that was familiar. Finally a dark, foreboding castle became visible through the ever-present fog that hung in the sky. It was made of slimy black granite. Lightening laced the sky above the castle walls, nearly striking them. We dodged several bolts of it before enteringVoldemort's castle scant seconds after he had. He dumped Harry unceremoniously to the ground and called for a guard who brought him several instruments of torture.

I shuddered to think what Voldemort might be planning to do to Harry with them. My companion put his arms around me but I shook them off. My face grew hard and cold.

"We must do something to help him," I said starting to move forward.

"Lily, please. Let Harry handle it himself. He's not seven anymore, he's seventeen. He can deal with it."

"What if he can't, James? What if we loss him? Have you ever thought about the consequences?"

"Yes I have and all I'm asking is for you to trust me and him."

I inclined my head and watched as Harry began to stir.

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Harry heard the sound of robes sweeping the ground quite nearby and smelled a funny smell that he couldn't place but somehow seemed familiar. As he came more awake and realized that he was not in a bed but on a cold, hard stone floor. He lay there in a daze, wondering how he had ended up on the floor. His mind was still trying to process this information when he heard a voice that made him sit up at once.

"Ah! Awake are we. Good. I've waited so long for this day, Potter."

Harry thought for a moment that he was dreaming but as he looked around the empty room the truth of his situation struck him. He was captured by Voldemort. He leapt to his feet and reached for his wand, only to discover it was not in his belt like it should have been. Where was it? Harry looked up at Voldemort and saw him twirling a wand in his hand. He smiled down at Harry and pointed the wand at him. Harry's heart was beating fast and, without realizing what he was doing, he charged Voldemort. 

"If I can get that wand I'll have a chance."

Voldemort merely stood there looking calm and quite unconcerned. In a moment Harry learned why as he slammed into a glowing magic wall. Looking around he noticed that it completely surrounded him. Harry strained against the nearly invisible barrier and the inside of it began to glow as Harry attempted to use his magic to force the barrier back or to create an opening through which he could pass. Voldemort watched with an amused look on his face, his arms folded across his chest, still calm. 

"That's no use, you know," said Voldemort lazily "the barrier's impenetrable. I've tested it most thoroughly before using it on you."

Harry looked at Voldemort defiantly but said nothing in reply. He racked his brain, trying desperately to remember the counter spell to the one Voldemort had cast around him. The answer was somewhere inside himself; if only he could remember. Fear assailed him but he clamped down on it.

"Your afraid," said Voldemort nonchalantly.

Harry put a tighter reign on his emotions and suddenly calmness filled him, blocking out his fear. 

"How like your father… Pity he died so quickly. He was utterly alone Harry, shouting my name…begging for mercy. With his dying breath he cried out your name," Voldemort said maliciously.

Harry's face drained of all color and his scar began to burn. 

"What a waste of power. Now I will give you the same choice I once gave him. Will you join me? Add your power to my own and you will live."

The room around Harry turned red and rage such as he had never known surged through his fragile calmness. His green eyes became alight with an inner fire and he trembled. His eyes narrowed and he glared at Voldemort with barely suppressed fury glimmering in their depths.

"Ah. Anger, rage and fear. My weapons, Harry. Ones I can use to turn you. Stay angry,Harryand soon you and the power you have stolen will be mine."

"Never!" cried Harry who grabbed the power and wrapped it about himself like a shimmering cloak.

"Then you will die Potter but not quickly like your parents. I will draw the power from you and add it to my own. Once your powers join mine there will be nothing left of you. It will be painful. You will die an inch at a time. You will beg me for mercy but will receive none. Maybe I'll leave you in that state forever as payback for all the times you've defeated me. Think on it and know you power will be mine and with it I shall take the world."

Voldemort swept from the room, his evil laughter echoing off the stone. The guard followed locking the door behind him. Harry slumped to the floor; all color draining from his face once more. The rage poured out of him like water, leaving him weak and shaken. He trembled with fear as thoughts flinted through his mind. 'What was it like to die?' By the glow of his magic Lily and James could see that tears were tumbling freely down his face. Quietly Harry cried, his head in his hands.

I turned to James and saw he was gazing at Harry forlornly. There were tears glistening on his cheeks and I realized that he too missed our son at least as much as I did. We had giving our lives so that Harry would live. Still I wondered, even after all this time, what would have happened if we had been allowed to live our lives in peace.I watched Harry as he struggled to regain control over himself. He wiped his tears on his robes and a new resolve seemed to fill him. I stretched my hand toward him and murmured:

"Your can do it Harry. Look for the answer inside of yourself."

Harry thought he heard a voice cut through his confusion, a quiet steady female voice telling him he could do it. He had no idea whose voice it was but he resolved to try. He finished wiping his tears on his robes, rose and began to study the situation before him. A magic barrier surrounded him, the door before him was locked and he was in the hands of….

"Don't think of that," he told himself sternly as he was about to give up hope. 

To take his mind off his situation he studied the barrier around him pretending it was a lesson set by one of his teachers. He had seen barriers like this before of course though nothing as strong as this one. He tested the walls with his hands and mind but not his magic. They did indeed appear to be impenetrable. He sat down again and studied the wall some more It had to have a weakness somewhere. A wrinkle furrowed his brow as he cast about in his mind for what he knew of magical wall. He'd seen or heard of something like this recently and he was not head of the school for nothing. His scar was livid in the pale light. Harry ran his hands through his hair and rubbed his scar as he sometimes did when deep in thought. His scar was warm as it always was when he preformed magic and strangely he felt comfortedby it. His parents seemed nearer to him whenever he touched it. Harry smiled briefly then he returned to the problem at hand never realizing his parents were very close at hand. 

"First this barrier, then the door," he thought as he went back to studying it.

We floated above helpless to do anything but watch. Harry continued to study the barrier and we also studied it but could no more find its weakness from the outside then Harry could from within it. When he thought of us and smiled, warmth spread through us and we hovered as close as we could to him. He lapsed back into thought and I was strongly reminded of his father who often wore the same expression when pondering some problem or other. 

"So like James," I thought.

The glow of magic intensified within the barrier until the light shone like a small sun. Harry was unaware of the change but we snapped to attention as it's meaning became clear. Harry's magic was now at full strength. It had chosen this most dire of moments to come into it's own. Harry, though he knew it not, was a full wizard at last. James and I looked at the power radiating form Harry and saw he was at least as powerful as Voldemort, if not more so.

"He's Voldemort's equal now," James said bemused, as I nodded.

A silvery white light laced with scarlet bathed Harry in its glow, surrounding him in a shield of protection stronger even than the protection spell we had cast upon him. Harry sat totally unaware of all this though, lost in his own thoughts.

"He's the Chosen One," continued James, a fierce look in his eyes.

I gasped realizing he was right. While still students at Hogwarts we had read of the Chosen One- the one who would put an end to Voldemort's reign forever. The legend ran that as Godric Gryffindor lay dying, he told those around him that a great darkness was going to cast itself over the land but at the height of it's power, when all seemed lost, the Chosen One would rise to destroy the darkness with purest light. 

"He shall be known by these signs," Godric had said in those ancient days.

"He shall be of Gryffindor's house as his fathers before him."

"My sword shall come to aid him in time of greatest need."

"Lightening shall be on his brow and power shall make itself manifest in his darkest hour."

"He shall face the Great Darkness time and time again and triumph though he knows not how."

"He is the Heir of my blood and my powers will be granted him in times of need."

"Watch and remember. In him lays the hope of the Light."

Saying this Godric Gryffindor died and this legend was handed to everyone who passed through the portals of Gryffindor tower.

James had once thought he was the Chosen One, the very Heir of Gryffindor himself. His family's history could be traced back in unbroken succession to Godric Gryffindor and this was where his confidence had come from even as Voldemort made war on the Potters. He had thought this was why Voldemort was after him, but he had only discovered that evening that it was not he but Harry who was the Heir. We had posted an owl to Dumbledore telling him of our suspicions just before we were killed and Harry was made a hero and orphan. It was this secret that Dumbledore was going to tell Harry as soon as he graduated, but that secret had died with him untold to anyone. Now the time at last had come. The Heir had come into his own and the Chosen One had risen to claim what rightfully belong to him.

"There's only one problem, ' I said glumly. "He is still unaware of it. Unless he learns of this his new powers will be useless. They will lay inactive and unable to be used."

"Then we must help him,somehow, " said James as hew floated around the barrier imprisoning Harry. 

"But how…"I began.

"Now let me see…"  
  


The barrier around Harry pulsed with energy. The patterns in it shifted and the longer he studied it the more impossible his escape looked. Courage, which had thus far sustained him, began to die and his hope to dim with it. Harry closed his eyes and two tears slide down his cheeks to splash on the floor. Fear grew within him, rendering him unable to move or to concentrate on his escape plan. Harry looked the instruments of torture that Voldemort had left behind and began to shiver. Soon Voldemort would return to do whatever and Harry was powerless to prevent it. He hated feeling helpless. Anger burned the fear away and he threw himself at the barrier, willing it to give but it didn't. He pounded his fists against it and even once attempted to send a lightening bolt into it but to no avail. The barrier around him remained stubbornly there.

The fear returned redoubled and Harry began to hear something he hadn't heard in years: the sound of his mother's final moments. The last time he had heard that was when he was set upon by dementors in his third year at Hogwarts.

"That's not possible," Harry thought "Voldemort wouldn't … couldn't have one in his service."

"Ah, but I do Potter. There is one in my service. You've even meet once before. Remember…"

And Harry did remember that night four years past. The dementor had tried to administer the Kiss on him. He still had nightmare replays of that incident at least once a week. He saw it again in his mind. The dementor with it's hood lowered … the scab covered eyes and the huge mouth ready to clamp down on his. Harry shuddered and all hope fled from him as the dementor's familiar coldness filled him and the screaming grew louder in his mind.

"Don't worry Potter. I'll not let him Kiss you but I will leave him right outside here."

The door opened and for a moment a black hooded dementor stood framed in the doorway. Harry's eyes grew wide and he trembled violently. He tried to hold back the fear but it was impossible, as his mother's screams grew still louder in his mind.

"I'll leave him here, shall I. He will remain here until you join me or until you are drained of all memory. Either way I will then have your powers."

Harry's mind screamed"No!" and Voldemort laughed.

"No one crosses me and lives long, Potter. You of all people should know that. Oh, and I wouldn't try to escape. If you try the dementor will finish what he started four years ago. 

The voice slid away and the door closed. Harry tried to remember the spell to ward off dementors but the screaming in his head had grown even clearer and louder until it drove everything else out of his mind. His vision swam and he felt the dementor begin the feed on his happy memories, which were so few. He tried to block the dementor by putting a shield around his mind but still it kept taking and taking.

"Mum… Dad… Somebody… help me… please!" he cried (or thought he did) as the darkness consumed his spirit and he fainted into blackness

"James, we must hurry," I cried. 

James floated in front of Harry and stretched a hand toward the barrier but as soon as his hand touched the barrier, the power in the barrier flared and sent him flying into a wall. He stopped his spirally flight just before he went sailing through the wall. James brushed himself off and shook his head.

"Smart idea, Potter," he mumbled.

He began to float around the barrier again until he came to the spot where I sat or rather hovered.

"He can't hold out against a dementor for long. You know that. No one can and be the same," I said looking up at him.

"I know! I know! We'll be able to get him passed the dementor and into another part of the castle but this barrier's the problem. There must be a way to break it. Every spell can be broken. I've just need to figure it out how."

He smiled faintly and I looked imploringly at him, tears shining in my eyes like silver.

"Don't worry, Lily. We'll find a way. Though I do wish Remus was here. He was always better at Dark Arts spell breaking then I."

"What if we can't break it?" I asked.

"Ah but we will. A more accurate question is 'will we be given enough time to?'"

I shivered at the thought but nodded. James sat down and put his chin in his hand. His eyes turned inward and I knew that he was deep in thought. Knowing he didn't want to be disturbed, I floated to sit closer to Harry. He lay with his head pillowed in his arms and he was shaking violently, though with mortal fear or the cold I couldn't tell. Looking down I saw a line of power running from Harry to the dementor and knew he was leeching every good memory away from Harry. I also saw a second line trying to be established to Harry and it bore Voldemort's signature. Thus far it had been unable to connect because the protective shield was fending it off. As long as the shield remained Voldemort would never gain access to Harry's power. But if Harry remained long in the presence of a dementor, the shield would weaken and then collapse or Harry might just give himself to Voldemort just to get rid of the dementor. Voldemort would never honor his side of the bargain but it wouldn't matter to Harry by that point.

I got as close to the barrier as I dared, remembering what had happened to James, and I watched Harry.

"Fight it…" I thought fiercely at him. "Fight it. Remember my love protects you. Remember what you've said so often: I will _not_ fear. I will _not_ join Voldemort. He has no power over me."

I sat outside the barrier, looking in and hoped with all my heart.I hoped for a miracle.

Harry's sleeping mind was being assailed on every side by darkness. It held fast to him and everywhere he ran it surrounded him. He couldn't escape and was unable to remember a time when there had been anything but the darkness and the high, cruel laughter of someone whose name he couldn't remember. Somewhere a woman was pleading and begging.

"Not Harry… Please not Harry…"

He didn't understand it at all. He just wanted to hide in some hole somewhere and never come out. Something terrifying was following him but he could not remember who or what it was now.

"Who was he? How long had he been here? Why was he here?"

These were the unanswered questions that chased each other around in his head. He awoke to find himself surrounded by pulsating energy.

"That doesn't make sense," he thought as he reached out a hand to touch the wall. It felt warm and alive but it didn't move when he pushed on it. 

It was then that he noticed the woman sitting next to him on the other side of the energy wall. She looked familiar to him but he couldn't place her. She was a pearly gray color and had sad eyes. She was looking at him with a mixture of love, sadness and longing that he didn't understand. Just as he began to reach toward this figure, the fear began its assault on his mind again as he relived every bad memory he had within him, even ones he couldn't or didn't remember. The ghostly woman faded from his vision and a pain seared across his scar. 

"Don't leave me alone," he cried as he slipped once more into dark dreams.

Somehow Harry had seen me. I was sure of this. He had reached out for me and looked right where I was. Maybe I could use this tool to rescue him or at least to shield him from the dementor. I rested my back against the wall, shut my eyes and concentrated.

Harry was running down a dark dungeon corridor. The torches were all lit with black flames which cast very little light on the floor before him. He could hear running footsteps behind him.

"I can't let him catch me. I can't…" the word were thought to the beating his heart. 

"I'll never turn! Never join the Dark. You'll have to kill me first!" he thought defiantly.

"Ah! But I can turn you anytime I want to," said a hissing voice in his mind. "You even now bare my mark upon your magic. Anything you do with it will be forever tainted by my dark power."

"I'll hide,…" he thought.

"You can't. Wherever you go, I'll find you. Magic will call to magic and you care within you part of my power too. You are mine Potter and always will be."

"NEVER!" Harry hissed through clenched teeth. 

Just then Harry, looking back, saw Voldemort's red, mad eyes a few feet behind him. Harry put on an extra burst of speed and tripped over something on the floor. Suddenly Harry found himself back in the room he was trying to escape from. He was pinned to the wall by Devil's Snare and quite unable to move.

"I always win," Voldemort's voice hissed in his mind. "Remember that, Potter."

The Devil's Snare held him tighter and his head slumped forward. There was no hope left in him. No chance that he might escape and no reason to go on fighting a hopeless battle he was doomed to lose. The dementor's spell was just too powerful. It had taken everything from him, leaving him with nothing but the darkness that clouded his vision and haunted his dreams.

The real world echoed Harry's dream world as his spirit surrendered to the inevitable.

"I have you now Potter!" Voldemort's voice shouted in triumph as Harry's soul shouted "Nooooo!"

A searing pain flooded through Harry, blocking out even the fear cast by a dementor. Harry felt as if his very soul was afire and he felt his magic being slowly drained.He screamed as wave after wave of white-hot pain seared through him until all he knew was the pain. He had no defense against this attack and couldn't have concentrated even if he had known the proper counter spell.

"You cannot have him!" he heard a silvery voice call. "He is protected from you forever."

He felt a soothing coolness envelope his body and soft familiar music floated around him, blocking out the pain, fear, the screams and that high, terrible laughter.

"This seems familiar," he thought to himself. "Almost like I've been through this before."

He kept his eyes closed, afraid to open them and find it was all a dream. The Devil's Snare in his dream released its hold and he slide to the floor. He lay there for several minuets, unable to move. Warmth and happiness flooded through him once more and he reveled in the feelings. His courage returned and his hope was restored. A smile played across his lips and he opened his eyes to find himself staring at what could only be a ghost. She smiled back and stretched out her hand toward him. He responded by stretching out his own hand. Harry looked into her face; something about it was familiar to him. He studied her as they sat there with their hands not quite touching. For a moment the pearly white ghost wore another aspect, that of a young, red-haired woman with bright green eyes.

"Mum… is it you?" he asked, hardly daring to believe it.

She nodded and he heard a soft, quiet and very familiar voice in his head. 

"Come, Harry. Walk toward me. Look only at me. There is nothing and no one else here but you and me. Come, please."

Harry got to his feet, keeping a careful eye on his mothers face. She smiled at him encouragingly and he moved slowly toward her. Slowly because his scar was sending lances of pain through his head and he felt extremely weak. Soon he had reached her side and, looking up, he saw tears glimmering in her eyes.

"Oh, Harry," she said hugging him to her.

Her felt her arms wrap themselves around him and they were warm, not cold. He found himself crying too, trying to tell his mother everything at once. He knew it was just a dream but still he needed to tell her, let her know how much he still missed her.

"Where's Dad?" he asked looking around the room knowing that wherever one of his parents was the other would surely be nearby.

Then Harry saw him floating about five feet off the chamber floor, a look of deep concentration on his face. James opened his eyes and saw Harry looking up at him, his eyes full of tears of joy. James floated to the floor then, to hug his son for the first time in years and to hear all Harry had to say. Harry was now the happiest boy in the world and he hoped he would never waken from this dream.

The reunion with our son was cause for great rejoicing, even in the dire circumstances we were in. For several minuets we were allowed to be together and our hearts soared together. We explained that we had guarded him all this time but all to soon the trouble at hand intruded into out idyllic scene.

The image of Harry's parents began to waver in and out. They began to fade from his dreaming mind and at last he woke up. He looked around and called out to them but if they were there, they were no longer visible to him. He looked carefully around but there was nothing in the room except the barrier surrounding him.

"Wait a minute."

Harry's eyes grew round, for he now stood outside the barrier with his wand clutched in his right hand. He couldn't remember having cast the spell that released him nor could he remember how he had gotten his wand but here he was free again with wand in hand. Quite suddenly he realized that he couldn't feel the dementor even though it was right outside the door. Someone was blocking the fear, protecting his mind so that he could think clearly once more.

"Thank you!" he called out to the air around him. He could not see his parent's ghosts but he knew they were there somewhere.

Harry paced the room, trying to figure a way out of it. The door was out, of course, after all he really didn't want to face a dementor or its Kiss right now. He looked out the only window but wasn't sure he could levitate that far down. (Besides he was here to put an end to Voldemort's evil, not to run from his destiny.) That only left one spell, Apparation. He had learned the spell but had never tried it yet. All 7th years had, although he had known the spell since his 5th year. (He had learned it with Dumbledore's permission in case Voldemort should ever try to take him again.) He had never had occasion to use the spell, not even to test it. Harry stopped pacing and stood still, deep in thought. After a few minutes he decided to try it but just as he was about to he remembered something. A witch or wizard could only Apparate to locations familiar to them. They needed to have a clear picture of where they wanted to go before they could go there. Harry didn't have any clue as to what any other rooms in this castle looked like except for this room. 

"Now what do I do? Go back to Hogwarts? No I must finish this here and now. I might never get a better chance."

Harry sat down and went back to thinking of another way out of his situation. He'd been deep in though for some time when the image of a room appeared as if by magic into his mind. It was a great hall with the arms of Slytherin on the wall above a dark, throne-like seat. There were statues all around the room and a roaring fire in the large fireplace.

The room looked to be enveloped in a fog, the image indistinct.

"Voldemort will come there, Harry. Apparate there," he heard a voice say.

Harry studied the room in his mind's eye trying to will it into becoming clearer. Suddenly the image became crystal clear until even the statues became detailed.

"I should be able to hide behind one of those,' he thought as he studied a particularly gruesome looking one with a warty nose and humped back.

He was just about to Apparate when he caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye. It was one of the ghosts he had seen earlier, his mother's ghost. She stretched out her hand and mouthed words that he could just barely make out. 

"I will be careful, Mum. I promise," he said smiling up at her. 

She looked down at him and mouthed, "Good luck."

Just then a light so bright that it almost blinded Harry filled the room and stepping out of the scarlet and gold light was another ghost that Harry recognized at once.

"Godric Gryffindor…" he whispered, awed by the sight of one of the Hogwarts four standing before him.

"Yes, Harry. The founder of your house and your ancestor through you father's side."

Harry's eyes grew round with surprise but he said nothing.

"You are my right and trueborn Heir. As token of this I now grant you my power and return to you my sword. Use both wisely."

Harry felt himself filling with power. It hummed in his mind and felt warm in his veins. Power such as he had never felt coursed through him and he now realized for the first time that he was a full wizard at last. Gryffindor gave over to him the ruby encrusted silver sword Harry remembered from five years previous. It shimmered in the light cast by Harry's new power.

"May luck shine upon you, Heir of Gryffindor," said Godric with a grin as he disappeared from the room leaving Harry standing alone in the dimly lit chamber.

Harry was stunned by the information. He stood there some moments after the ghost had left staring at the sword in his hands. 

"I'm the Heir of Gryffindor?" he mused.

Everything about his life began to make sense to him now. This was why Voldemort wanted to kill him and why he had been watched over so carefully by everyone. 

"Heir of Gryffindor…" 

Harry shook his head to clear it. Heir of Gryffindor or not, he still needed to escape from this prison. He looked around the room one last time, making sure he hadn't left any escape route out then, with a grin of his own, he spoke the words of the Apparation spell and disappeared from his prison.

==============================================================

James and I followed Harry hoping that he would find the Great Hall empty. Voldemort was sure to feel someone Apparate into it he happened to be in the room. Fortunately no one was in the room and Harry was able to hide behind the hump-backed statue without incident. Now the long wait began. We floated around the room trying to locate danger but, finding none, we moved to hover above Harry. He was so close to me, that I could have reached out and touched him but I didn't dare. He was deep in thought, readying for the fight ahead.

Harry's heart was pounding in his chest until he thought Voldemort must hear it, wherever he was. He sat down between the statue and the wall to prepare himself for battle. He laid the sword and his wand on the floor and mentally went over every spell he knew or had ever heard of. He was as ready mentally and magically as he was likely to be, even if he was physically weaken by his imprisonment.

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be. Now if Voldemort would come…" he thought as he began to still the wild beating of his heart so his tense body would relax.

He sat with his back to the wall and began to relax somewhat. There was no way anyone would see him hiding there as long as he remained quiet. For a fleeting moment he wished for his invisibility cloak to hide under but then thought better of it as Voldemort probably could have even have seen him with it on.

"I wonder how the others are and how much time has passed outside?" he thought. He was sure they were all frantic with worry and probably looking for him even now. He relaxed farther and then slipped into slumber, clutching his wand and sword


	2. Default Chapter Title

## Final Confrontation: Parts 4-Epilogue

### The Whole Story~ Edited 2

I stood watching Harry as he slept the first sound sleep he'd had in days. He looked so peaceful, so relaxed. I wondered how he could sleep so deeply in a time of such danger.

I floated above him and tried not to think of what could happen. I didn't want him to die, not yet. He hadn't really had a chance to live. Even after all the predictions I still held out a hope that order would be restored without too much bloodshed. That Harry would meet Voldemort alone without anyone else being involved in the battle and that he would survive this battle as he had countless others. 

Harry stirred and I was just wondering what had troubled his sleep when I felt the presence of dark magic in the room. It was like a cold wind on my shoulder and chilled me to the bone. 

"Voldemort…" James hissed.

"Harry, wake up Voldemort…" 

I never got to finish my sentence because at that moment Voldemort appeared right in front of me blocking me from Harry. Laughing manically Voldemort grabbed Harry from where he slept and Apparated away again before James or I could do or say anything.

"Where could Voldemort be taking him?" I asked no one in particular.

"Hogwarts… It's under attack!" James cried, his eyes wide and staring, as his ghostly image wavered a moment.

I suddenly felt a surge in power as the protections around the school that we were keyed to flared. I shuddered as something impacted against the magic shields breaking them down with the impact of a sledgehammer. I looked back at James and saw he looked like I felt. We Apparated to Hogwarts immediately wondering what we would find when we arrived.

Harry awoke to the muffled sounds of screams and clashing swords. The air around him was hot and heavy with smoke as if a large bonfire was burning nearby. He lay there in confusion trying to give his memory time to catch up with his body. Then he heard something, which made him sit bolt upright. It was the voice of Voldemort, demanding the surrender of Hogwarts.

"How…?" Harry willed his dazed mind into alterness, straining to catch the distant words that were being exchanged

"There's nothing to be gained by resisting me. I already have Potter and soon he will die. When that happens all hope is ended for his power shall make me invincible. Surrender now and I'll spare you the agony of a slow death. You have one hour."

Harry's heart beat in his chest then he heard a far away voice reply with defiance, "We do not need you hour to decide. We choose to fight! If you take this castle it will be because every one of us lies dead in its defense."

Harry heard the sound of lightening striking the rock walls of the castle then and an explosion. 

"Then die a slow and painful death!" 

Harry heard the sound of battle intensify. He needed to be out there helping them. He rose and for the first time noticed that he was in a tent of some kind. The dark material of it muffled the sounds around him. The next thing he noticed was that he still had both the sword and his wand. Not really caring if there were guards around the tent or not Harry ran outside and got a lungful of smoke. He coughed and then looked around him. It was Hogwarts all right but it was so changed that Harry barely recognized it. For a moment he thought he was still trapped in some evil, dementor-induced dream. 

A good one third of the castle was nothing more then smoldering rubble making the part that still stood look grotesquely out of place and it was swarming with the army of Voldemort. Harry saw the light of wand shooting off spells through the smoke and haze that cloaked the battlefield the grounds had become. Fear assailed him again but he told it to take a long walk. He began to run toward the castle, intent on helping the defenders where he could. He saw indistinct shapes all around him but whether they were friend or foe he couldn't tell. He continued toward the castle without stopping to find out.

When he got close enough, he saw a small knot of students making a stand on the front steps of the school. Dark servants surrounded them on all sides. Harry waded into this group of enemies, charging into Voldemort's creatures with the impact of a wrecking ball. He cut his way to the group until he stood next to them. Shoulder to shoulder they fought and beat the servants back. They retreated, trampling over their dead in their haste to escape. Harry shot bolts of red and gold lightening after them as they ran off in search of easier prey.

"Harry…"

"It is you…"

Harry turned to find Ron and Hermione looking at him. Their robes were in tatters and their faces were smudged with ash but their faces now split into wide grins. Hermione burst into tears.

"We were so afraid of what he would do to you," she said through her sobs. "When he said he would kill you…"

Ron merely shrugged and slapped Harry on the back.

"I wasn't worried for a moment," he said, grinning

Hermione wiped her tears and Harry looked at the group that was now ringing him. It was a mixed group of students from all the houses, mostly seventh years.

"We've been defending the entrance," Ron said without preamble. "All the students fifth year and below who could be found are in Gryffindor Tower."

"The teachers are protecting them and McGonagall said it was the only safe place for them," said Hermione, eyeing the tower.

Harry had to agree with McGonagall's assessment. Nothing evil could enter Gryffindor Tower. The spells on it were extremely powerful and hard to break. 

"When did all this start?" Harry asked quickly.

"Two days ago," Ron grimaced. "We were unprepared and nothing we've done so far seems to be stopping them."

Harry pondered this news a few seconds and was just about to say something when a new wave of dark minions attacked. They beat the attack off and it was then that Harry noticed Malfoy standing next to him. Draco stared out over the grounds turned battlefield but said nothing to Harry. There was blood dripping from a gash in his forehead but he ignored it and stood, glaring at the army before him, rage and loathing reflected in his eyes.

"What's with him?" Harry asked as he noted the strange gleam in Malfoy's eyes.

"He's gone completely mental," said Ron quietly. "Most of Slytherin went over to Voldemort's side right away but some of them, like Malfoy here fought the spell and his mind must have snapped."

"It is said that Voldemort killed his parents in a fit of rage," continued Hermione.

"He has no one left and he doesn't really care what happens to him now," added Ginny, who was standing behind Ron watching Malfoy with an unreadable look in her eyes.

Harry looked at the faces around him and saw their fear but he also saw hope. Hope because he had returned in their darkest hour. He began to form a plan, one that would maybe save Hogwarts, his friends and the world.

"We need to break this stalemate," he said. "We need to charge them now."

"Are you mad Harry? That would leave the entrance wide open…" began Hermione.

"No… wait a minute," said Ron. "It's brilliant. Voldemort would expect us to die defending the entrance. He would never think that we'd move against his forces. Instead of being on the defensive Harry's plan would put us on the offensive and the momentum of the battle would then swing to us."

Harry's eyes sparkled and he grinned at Ron.

"Exactly!" he said quietly, eyeing Draco nervously.

Slowly sense returned to his face and Malfoy flashed what passed for a grin at Harry. Malfoy nodded, one quick movement of his head. In this critical moment all animosity was forgotten between them and their respective school houses. There were only those who were willing to protect the lives of others, maybe even at the cost of their own. In that moment Harry realized that they both had more in common then he had first thought. He held out his hand and Malfoy, surprised by Harry's action, shook it briefly before turning to the enemies before them.

Voldemort's army was milling around, unable to decide what to do and that was when the combined forces of Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw charged into their ranks. Harry raised Gryffindor's sword and Draco raised his wand. A shower of green and scarlet sparks flew from the ends of both and with Harry and Malfoy in the lead, they all charged. Forming a wedge, they hit the milling army and managed to split it in two. One half of the defenders followed Harry and the other Malfoy, each part surrounding a half of the invading force.

Over the sound of battle Harry could hear the students battle cries and once or twice he was sure he heard Draco singing the Slytherin house song. Harry responded with the Gryffindor house song and continued to sing it in his heart after all of his concentration was taken up by the enemies before him. The world narrowed to him and his opponents. One by one he fought them off in groups or singly until none were left to fight. He saw Ron and Hermione fighting back to back. They were holding their own and Harry saw Draco set a troll afire with a flare of green magic. He felt rather than saw an arrow wiz by his head and instinctively ducked. He turned to face a contingent of archers and sword creatures.

The smoke blocked them from his view for a moment and when it cleared he heard the Slytherin battle cry as Malfoy charged into their ranks.

"To me Malfoy! To me! Back to back!" Harry shouted over the din. 

Malfoy fought his way to Harry's side and they stood back to back. They fought thus for what seemed like ages and still the enemy pressed them. They had tried to break free twice but to no avail. Grimly they fought on hoping for a miracle. Suddenly, the line in front of them collapsed completely as Ron and the others charged into it. Harry let out a cheer and continued to fight. The dark ones were being driven back and back again. The five of them fought back to back now, ringed by enemies. Step by painful step they drove the dark servants back and into the Forbidden Forest which was dim with shadows. The enemy retreated into the forest and the defenders gave a ragged cheer.

"They'll never escape the forest," said Ron, a wide grin cutting across his ash-streaked face.

Hermione and Neville high fived each other and Harry and Malfoy grinned.

"Let's get back to the castle…" began Ron.

Suddenly lightening streaked the sky, lighting the sky with a blinding flash. The sky above grew darker in a matter of seconds and the wind whipped their hair and robes. Large lightening bolts exploded on the ground around them, so close they almost struck Harry and everyone around him. A large bolt of green and silver lightening struck the space right in front of Harry. Within its light he saw a black hooded figure he recognized instantly.

"Voldemort…" Harry whispered.

A cold wind blew across the field and evil laughter filled the air around them, taunting them. Before them, spreading his darkness before him, stood Voldemort. His red eyes were glowing in his pale face and an evil grin played across his mouth.

"At last, Potter. We meet again, face to face."

Harry raised his wand, the brother to Voldemort's own, and pointed it. His bright green eyes narrowed and his face looked like it was craved of stone.

"This is between you and me, Voldemort. Leave the others out of it!" Harry's voice rang with power and the others stepped back a pace.

"A challenge…Very well. A wizard duel it shall be with the world as the prize."

Harry merely nodded in acceptance, never taking his eyes off Voldemort's own.

"And I'll be his second," came a deadly quiet and drawling voice edged with sarcasm.

Voldemort's eyes narrowed in surprise.

"Malfoy…" he hissed softly. "I would never have guessed you would have ever helped Potter willingly. You loathe each other."

"That may be true," said Malfoy cringing slightly. "But that was before you attacked us all, even those in your own house who would have come to you willingly! That was before you killed my parents who never did anything against your wishes!"

Harry turned to stare at Malfoy, who stood staring defiantly at Voldemort.

"Their usefulness had ended. They were merely a loose end…" Voldemort said as an evil smile played over his mouth.

Malfoy's eyes narrowed and Harry saw a raging fire alight within them.

_He's insane with grief _a detached part of Harry's mind thought.

"We will meet in one hour's time on the Quidditch pitch. One hour Potter and then you die."

With a swirling of robes Voldemort disappeared leaving Harry and his friends alone on the field. The wounded were moaning and that aroused Harry out of his stupor.

"Harry you can't…" began Hermione.

"What if you lose…" continued Ron.

"Harry don't sacrifice yourself…" said Neville.

Harry waved away their arguments with his hand. 

"Don't you see, it has to be this way," he said quietly.

"But if he kills you, then what?" muttered Ron darkly.

"I want you to listen to me. Take the wounded and barricade yourselves in Gryffindor Tower. I will come to you there if I am able. Don't leave, no matter what you see or hear. If I… fall…" Harry paused for a moment his face full of emotion. "If I fall, I want you to take as many out with you as you can before you fall. Don't surrender. Do you understand me? You must never surrender to him!"

Harry… we can't let you…" began Hermione again. 

"I must," he said cutting her off. "Now please take the wounded and go. I can't give my full attention to Voldemort if I have to keep an eye on all of you at the same time. Now promise me you'll not surrender to him."

They all looked into his eyes and nodded solumnly. 

"You've all been the best friends in the world. I'll see you when it's all over," said Harry looking at each of them in turn.

Ron turned away for a moment unable to say anything. Finally after several minuets he turned to Harry and said in an almost steady voice, " Get on with you then. We'll see you in the Common Room. Do be careful, won't you." 

Hermione burst into tears, unable to say anything and Neville mutely held out his hand for Harry to shake (which he did) surprised to be counted as one of Harry's friends. The three turned and heading in the direction of the wounded, leaving Harry and Malfoy alone on the field.__

We arrived at Hogwarts and found a nightmare. The castle and grounds were wreathed in heavy black smoke. Small fires burned throughout the building and the grounds where covered with a black mass that was Voldemort's army. We floated above the pitched battle and saw no hope at all for its brave defenders. They would not, could not win. Voldemort had them completely surrounded, cutting Hogwarts off from the outside world and from any aide that the Ministry of Magic might have sent. There was no way out of the trap Voldemort had laid. He'd planned everything to the last detail. We heard him demand their surrender and shuddered at the thought of what would happen if they chose to surrender.

Even worse then that was knowing somewhere down below us Harry was very likely fighting for his life. Tears of silver ran down my face and the terrible scene below blurred as I tried desperately to stop my crying. I felt James' arms around me then and I cried unrestrainedly into his shoulder, unable to contain my emotions any longer. He smoothed my hair and muttered words of comfort that I did not hear in my anguish. Suddenly James stiffened and I looked up at him. There was a slight smile on his face.

"He's done it, Lily! Look!" he said, pointing excitedly at the field below.

Looking down, I saw through the gloom the faint glimmer of a silver sword, red and gold sparks flying from it. My spirit soared. Harry had somehow escaped Voldemort's clutches again and was rallying the castle's defenders. He led them in a charge that opened a hole in the ring of enemies surrounding Hogwarts. A cheers went up from the defenders below as Voldemort's army was driven back all around the castle. We saw several try to flee into the Forbidden Forest. Not a single creature of Voldemort's who entered any part of the forest returned to their master. The guardians of the forest can be a vindictive lot if you've harmed any creature of the forest. 

Our hearts were lighter and out spirits were lifting when lightening split the sky. All the defenders looked up at the arriving storm and began to run for the cover of what remained of the castle. A large bolt hit the ground in front of Harry and Voldemort appeared. We heard Harry challenge him to a wizard duel and Voldemort's acceptance. One hour was granted to prepare. A single hour...Harry stood pale but resolute with, of all people, Malfoy at his side. We floated nearby and wondered what the outcome of this duel would be. With fear in our hearts, we kept a silent vigil with Harry. One hour.

The hour went by quickly, much to quickly for Harry's peace of mind. All the advice he had ever heard about wizard dueling was flinting through his mind and he wondered if it would be of any use to him at all. He really knew nothing of how Voldemort would fight, though he suspected treachery. For once he was glad for Malfoy's presence because he suddenly realized that he actually knew very little about Voldemort beyond rumor and hearsay, despite having faced him countless time before. He realized that having Malfoy as his second might give him a distinct advantage in the coming duel. Malfoy was preparing for treachery, he had said as much in the last hour when Harry had question him on what the best tactics might be.

"Keep your eyes on his at all times," Malfoy had told him. "The eyes give away moves sometimes. Concentrate on Voldemort alone, Potter. I'll keep an eye on his second. If you fall I will finish Voldemort and not surrender to him. I would rather die.

Looking into Draco's eyes, Harry could see the rage reflected in them. For one moment they looked at each other and nodded in understanding. They were both doing this, in part, to avenge their dead parents. 

He and Malfoy made their way to the Quidditch pitch, each wrapped in their own thoughts and as silent as two cats. They arrived there fifteen minuets early and Harry walked across the field, setting himself up at what had been the Gryffindor end in the last Quidditch match of the season. Gryffindor's sword was invisible in his belt and his wand was in his hand. He knew that wands were the only weapons allowed on the field of honor but he was not so naïve as to believe that Voldemort would obey the code of honor. After a few moments hesitation Malfoy joined him at Gryffindor's end of the field.

Had it really only been a few short weeks since he and Harry had faced each other across this very field? So many things had changed in that time and Draco had begun to understand, in a small way, what Harry had lived with all of his life. Ever since the death of his parents, or to put it more bluntly, the murder of his parents he had begun to question his loyalty to Voldemort's cause. He had begun to suspect that his loyalty had been horribly misplaced. The Malfoy's had always been involved in the Dark Arts and Draco had never questioned it, at least not until that horrible night two weeks ago. That night he had been called into McGonagall's office to be told his parents had been killed by Voldemort. He supposed he was still in shock from the news even now but he didn't care. Though there was no love lost between Harry and himself, at the moment he trusted Harry more then he had ever trusted Voldemort.

"At least Harry can be trusted to honor his word and I will do what I can to protect him."

Harry, meanwhile, was prowling the Gryffindor end of the stadium restlessly. He looked up at the three golden goal posts high above them. A smile flinted briefly across his features, remember that last match, then he frowned slightly and rubbed his scar. A snapping noise made him look up suddenly but it was only the flags blowing in the strong wind. The four house flags seemed to be living things seeking escape from the prison of their poles. He was watching the red and gold flag of Gryffindor with the lion emblazoned upon it and pondering the coming battle, when he caught a moment out of the corner of his eye. He whipped around but again it was not Voldemort. It was only the house banners, which were suspended from the upper tiers of the seating area. They listed all the years each house had won the Quidditch Cup and were magically updated every year to reflect the current victor. Harry knew without looking that the Gryffindor banner had been updated to reflect the recent victory that won them the cup. His spirit soared for a moment but then fell as rapidly as it had risen.

"I don't even know if anyone on the team still lives or if I will survive this next encounter. Was it really just a few weeks ago that we were all together?" Harry sighed heavily and resumed his pacing, his mind full of dark thoughts.

A greenish haze and a resounding boom heralded the arrival of Voldemort and his second, a pale faced, dark haired Slytherin that neither of them knew. The four strode to the center of the field and bowed then backed away a few paces. Malfoy and Voldemort's second moved farther back and with a flash of sparks the duel began.

Hours passed and still neither one of the combatants showed signs of relenting. Much to Malfoy's surprise (and probably Voldemort's too) Harry had a counter for everything Voldemort threw at him and had even managed to launch a few attacks of his own. Harry was growing weary though, Malfoy could see it in his slowed movements, while Voldemort still seemed unwinded. Unless Harry made a move and made it soon, Voldemort would overwhelm him. Malfoy continued to watch Voldemort's second who appeared to be waiting for something. 

Harry was as tired as he had ever been in his life and his magic was rapidly draining away. It had taken some very powerful counter spells to deflect Voldemort's attacks and if he hadn't been at full power before this duel began he would have never survived this long. He was surprised by the amount of power Voldemort had._ Where and when had he acquired such power? _Harry kept his eyes fixed on Voldemort's own. Malfoy had been right, most of the time he could read what was going to happen next in them. There was only one thing that puzzled Harry. Every once in a while Voldemort would glance over at his second. _What did it mean?_

"Treachery perhaps. Better concentrate on Voldemort and let Malfoy handle it."

Harry's eyes narrowed as he saw Voldemort's eyes dart once more toward his second. Harry's bright green eyes bore into Voldemort's dead red ones. His plot discovered, Voldemort in anger launched a barrage of magic at Harry and then lunged at Malfoy drawing another weapon.

"Malfoy, he's got a sword!" Harry shouted as he countered the spells and pulled his own sword out of hiding.

Harry ran forward to defend Malfoy and felt a burning pain in his shoulder and stomach. He looked down stupidly to see two knives buried up to the hilts in his body. His scar burned in his head and he staggered for a moment as Malfoy dodged Voldemort's sword swing. Malfoy jumped Voldmort's second, wrenching the remaining knives from his grasp, not knowing it was already to late. Voldemort turned to face Harry, his ebony black sword upraised and glistening evilly.

"You lose, Potter," he hissed. Those knives are poisoned. You will die slowly as it eats you from within. It could take days. A fitting punishment for one who has been so meddlesome," Voldemort laughed as Harry fell to his knees, overcome by the pain for a moment.

Voldemort strode closer and lifted Harry's chin so that he was forced to look up at him.

"There is yet one way you could be saved. Join with me now and I will heal you. I am the only one who knows the antidote to the poison and can give to you in time," he smiled. "Join with me and we shall rule this world together."

The world round Harry was revolving crazily and it felt like fire was running through his veins but he looked calmly at Voldemort, defiance in his green-eyed gaze. He spoke just a single word but the stadium magnified the word so that everyone, even those in Gryffindor Tower, heard it.

"NEVER!"

As he said this he brought up Gryffindor's sword, which glowed with a red-gold light and swung it with all his remaining strength. It sank into Voldemort's body up to the hilts and a terrible scream rent the air. Voldemort's mouth was open in surprise and, as Harry watched, his face melted and his body dissolved into a cloud of green smoke leaving nothing behind but an acidic smell and smoldering black robes. Harry closed his eyes and sank back to his knees. He was feeling extremely heavy now and the field was fading in and out. Though Voldemort was gone his scar still burned in his head causing darkness to cloud his vision. His body burned with more pain then he had ever known before. He felt himself slipping away and for a moment thought he saw his parents' ghosts again. His mother was crying and his father was beckoning. Then the world spun crazily and he felt himself fall forward. 

"It is over," he thought as the darkness rose to claim him.

"No… it can't be…" my heart cried.

James floated above the unconscious form of our son, shaking his head. He said nothing to me for there was anything he could say. It seemed likely that Harry would die in a few short hours unless the antidote could be discovered. I put my face in my hands and began to sob again. I couldn't stop for my grief was as great as if I was living, maybe more so.

"It is not his time, James. Not now…"

He looked back at me with all the sorrow I felt reflected in his eyes. He hugged me to him, tears standing in his eyes.

"That is not for us to decide, Lily. A higher power then us must make that choice. All we can do is wait and pray. Come."

He led me away from the Quidditch pitch, back toward Hogwarts and I prayed for a miracle.

Malfoy looked up from his fight with Voldemort's second to see Harry fall forward. Forgetting about the second who was unconscious and so could do no more harm, he ran to Harry's side.

"Harry…" he called quietly. "Harry… Please… don't be dead… Wake up… It's over… We won… Harry…"

But Harry remained where he had fallen, unmoving and as still as death. Malfoy turned him over and noticed for the first time that Harry had been wounded. The poisoned blades had now been driven farther into his body. 

"No…" Draco said with disbelief. "Not him too, not now that we've won."

Tears began to form, blurring his vision. He pounded ground in anguish unable to contain his sorrow any longer. He was still crying when two things happened. He felt Harry beginning to struggle to rise and, as he lifted his head, he saw two shadows detach themselves from the nearby stands. The shadows moved rapidly toward them and resolved into Ron and Hermione. Draco was just about to tell them off for disobeying the orders they had been given when Harry's eyes fluttered opened and a hiss of pain escaped from him. Draco and the others looked down at them.

He tried to rise but didn't seem to have the strength to. He looked from one face to another and tried to speak but no words would come. Pain greater then any he had known before was coming in wave after excruciating wave but he had to tell them. He might not live long enough to get another chance. His time was short and he knew it. He could feel himself slipping away again and it was only by a force of will that he stayed conscious at all. He moistened his dry lips and tried to speak again, forming the words carefully.

"My friends… My good friends…" he said in a raspy voice.

"Don't try to talk now, Harry. Just let us get you inside…" began Hermione, who was holding back tears.

"No… time. Listen… there's something… I want you… to do for me…" 

Hermione began to cry again while Ron looked down at Harry, his face so pale that all his freckles stood out.

Another wave of pain rolled over Harry and he moaned softly before continuing.

"Promise me… that you three… will continue the fight… Voldemort was not alone in this. Someone will rise to take his place even as Voldemort took the place of another.

Promise me…" Harry held out his trembling hand to them and they took it.

"We three promise to fight whatever darkness rises," they intoned solemnly through their tears.

Harry's hand slide from their grasp and he looked around frantically as if searching for something. Finally his hands brushed against first his wand and then Gryffindor's sword. Looking at the three of them, he beckoned them closer so that they were all kneeling down next to him. For a moment Harry closed his eyes trying to still the anguish in his heart. Very soon he might be leaving them forever and the thought saddened him. When he opened his eyes again they reflected none of the pain and grief he felt.

"Ron… I name you my heir… since I'll have none… in token of this… I leave Gryffindor's sword to you… use it well. I also… leave to you… the key to my vault… I'll have no need of money… now."

Ron took the ruby and silver sword and the small silver key solemnly. He looked down at Harry with disbelief in his eyes.

"Harry… You can't… Don't leave…" he began, tears pooling in his eyes.

"Don't grieve… too long… my friend," Harry paused and tried to comfort Ron who was sobbing uncontrollably. 

"Hermione… to you I leave… my father's invisibility cloak… I know you will… keep it safe… use it wisely…"

Hermione managed to smile through her tears and said, "I will Harry. I promise."

Harry turned then to Malfoy who was looking extremely pale, more so then he usually did. Draco's eyes were full of sorrow for he had been to late to save Harry's life.

"Yes… Malfoy… Draco…" Harry began when he suddenly broke out into a fit of coughing. 

Harry coughed fro several minutes, unable to stop. When he took his hand away from his mouth it was bright red with blood.

"This is not a good sign," muttered Ron in a low voice so that Harry wouldn't hear.

Hermione nodded and leapt up, already running at full speed toward the castle to get help. Harry's coughing subsided at last.

"Draco… to you I leave… the most important… magic item I… own. I give you my wand…"

Malfoy shook his head violently wanting to refuse the gift while Ron looked at Harry in surprise.

"You are… the one… it has chosen… It is very old… very powerful… guard it well..."

Another spasm of pain passed over his features and for a moment he was almost carried away by it. He reached out blindly to the two at his side, trying to draw strength from their presence.

"Bury me on the rise by the lake."

His voice grew stronger for a moment. "I want to be close to Hogwarts so that I might watch over it."

"You… cannot… die… too…" Ron said. "There have been too many…"

" I'm sorry to leave you but… it is not… given to us… to chose when… that is… for another…" Harry's voice trailed off as he slipped back into unconsciousness.

For one moment both Ron and Malfoy thought Harry had died but then, with relief they noticed he was still breathing. Ron and Malfoy looked at Harry and then each other, each seeming to know what the other was thinking. Without a word being passed between them all animosity between them fell away and something else took it place. It wasn't friendship yet but if they gave it a chance it might grow to be. At the moment it was just a feeling of trust. Ron held out a trembling hand across Harry's body in token of peace and Malfoy surprised himself by clasping it. For a moment they smiled but that smile failed to light their grief filled eyes. Malfoy looked down at Harry again, guilt in his heart.

"Maybe we should…" Ron paused, hearing the sound of running feet. 

Malfoy looked up from Harry's pale face to see Hermione followed by Professor Lupin and Sirius Black. Though he was surprised to see them together, he merely watched as they knelt next to Harry and began to examine him. They felt his forehead and looked at the wounds that were still bleeding sluggishly around the blades that pierced his body. Lupin studied the wounds for a while before looking gravely up at Black. Sirius' face paled and he shook his head, one sharp movement. Harry began to shiver as if he were chilled yet they could see he was burning with fever. Lupin, having made a decision, conjured a stretcher. Black, meanwhile, was running the nearest of the house flags down its pole. He took the flag and draped it over Harry who lay pale and unmoving on the stretcher. For a moment they all looked down at him, his breathing barely noticeable under the folds of the scarlet flag. Then slowly and silently they walked out of the stadium with the flag draped stretcher floating amid them toward Hogwarts. Each tried to shake the feeling of dread they had about this solemn march.

Finally they made their way up the marble front steps and entered the deserted, rubble strewn entrance hall. They paused for a moment and Sirius turned to the others.

"Where is everyone?" he asked quietly, eyeing the three of them.

"Harry told everyone to barricade themselves in Gryffindor Tower until he returned," said Hermione in a trembling voice.

Sirius nodded and led the way while the others followed, each wrapped in their own thoughts. After many twists and secret passages they arrived at a heavily guarded corridor that ended with a portrait of a fat lady in a pink dress. A shout went up when the defenders saw who was coming toward them.

"Remus, Sirius… Malfoy…" McGonagall began as several seventh years crowded around the group.

It is over, Minerva. Voldemort's power is broken forever…" began Lupin soberly but he was interrupted by a loud cheer that went up from the crowd at his pronouncement.

Professor McGonagall, sensing there was more to the story, waved for silence and after a few minutes the chattering crowd quieted. They looked expectantly at the five before them, trying to see what lay beyond them in the darkened corridor. Ron, Hermione and Draco stood quietly, tears pouring down their faces rendering them unable to speak. Black hung his head, unable to say anything because if he did he would break down right there. 

"Harry turned the tide. He defeated Voldemort in single combat but…" Lupin couldn't continue. He couldn't make himself say the words so he mutely gestured to the stretcher behind them.

"No…" McGonagall cried softly. "Please say it isn't true."

She looked from Lupin to Black and received only solemn, grief filled looks in return. Tears began to form in her eyes and the students around them stood in shocked silence. No one knew what to do or say. They looked at Harry's flag draped form and couldn't believe what they were seeing. It was inconceivable. Finally, Justin Finch-Fletchley moved to stand over Harry and noticed that he still was breathing. 

"Professor, he's not dead yet. See, he still breathes."

McGonagall looked closer at Harry and saw that it was true. She reached out to touch his face and drew it back as if Harry's face had burned her. She peered at his face and noticed that it was very pale and flushed looking. His scar was standing out lividly in his paper white face. 

"What is wrong with him?" she asked to no one in particular. "He's burning with fever."

"He's been poisoned," said Malfoy in a barely audible voice. "Heard Voldemort say it. He said it would eat him up from the inside. 

"Bring him inside the common room quick and we'll see what can be done for him."

The crowd parted to let them pass and soon they climbed through the portrait hole and into the Gryffindor common room. Another lifetime ago Malfoy would have giving anything to have learned the location of Gryffindor's common room but he was a different person now and he was to worried and tired to care.

They laid Harry carefully on a bed before the fireplace and McGongall examined the wounds.The room was cloaked in a silence so deep that you could have heard a pin drop while McGonagall pulled the knives out to better see the wounds. They looked as if they had been left untreated for weeks instead of barely an hour. Evil green lines were radiating from the wounds and a smell like something rotting came from them. Harry was literally burning up with a fever so hot that heat from it could be felt by anyone standing near him. McGonagall looked at Remus and Sirius, her eyes wide. They shook their head gravely, with tears standing in their eyes. Her bottom lip trembled and she began to cry softly. 

She turned her tear-stained face to the waiting group and said in a voice full of emotion, "There is nothing we can do to save him." 

A muffled sobbing broke out around the room then and Harry moaned as if in response.

Malfoy stared at the wounds and pondered. Something was familiar about them. He saw someone move to his side and looking up he found it to be Hermione who was also pondering Harry's wounds. Draco cast about in his mind for the memory triggered by the sight of them and he was sure she was doing the same. It was in something they'd studied recently, something about powerful poisons and their antidotes. He turned away from Harry and wiped the blood from his eyes, deep in thought. Suddenly a light went off in his head. Hermione grabbed his arm at that moment and murmured "potions book". He nodded and she ran off at once toward her dormitory. Draco wanted to tell McGonagall about what they were thinking but he didn't want to give anyone else a sense of false hope. With so many already dead it was the last thing they all needed.

Soon Hermione returned with her potions book in her hand. She motioned for him to join her in a secluded corner.

"I don't think we should say anything to anyone about this. If we don't find anything to help him then we won't have raised anyone's hopes," she said gravely.

"No one's but our own anyway," he noted with sadness edging his voice.

But Draco nodded and gestured to Ron to join them. He came over but Hermione looked up at him and noticed something in his eyes.

"Ron, maybe you should go lay down. You look dreadful. Take Ginny with you, she's not doing well." Ron nodded dully and left them looking as if he had just lost everything of importance to him.

"What's wrong with him? He looks dreadful," Malfoy asked, surprised that he even cared.

Hermione gave Draco a grief stricken look and said, "Ron received an owl after the battle was over. Almost all of his family is dead. Fred and George are still missing."

Draco nodded in understanding as he watched Ron and Ginny leave the common room together. He understood what they must have been feeling and he hoped with all his heart that Fred and George would be all right.

"Please let them be okay," he thought.

After a few moments he and Hermione bent over her potions book, searching for the poison that was slowly killing Harry. Near the back they found the description they were looking for. The poison was called "Death's Hunger" and Harry had all the symptoms. They read the description of what happened to the victim and their faces paled. It was a truly horrible way to die. They read farther and found that though the antidote was simple enough to brew it required several days to prepare and Harry didn't have that kind of time. Not only that, but the antidote was not even in this book. It was in _Moste Potent Potions _and the only copy of that rare book was currently under the tons of rubble that was the Hogwarts library. Sadly Hermione closed her book and looked up at Malfoy whose eyes had filled with tears. This was one time when all their knowledge failed them. Barring a miracle, Harry would die.

Draco felt like he had let Harry down again, first on the field of honor and now here.

"Always to late to help," he muttered.

"At least we can make a potion that will ease his pain somewhat," said Hermione quietly.

Malfoy said nothing, looking instead at where Harry lay. He laid thrashing about wildly, shouting out disjointed words. A new resolve filled Draco's heart and he nodded to Hermione and the two of them went off to mix the pain-killing potion.

==============================================================

We floated above Harry's body, wishing there was something we could do. He was lost in fevered dreams and no longer heard anyone, though we tried to call him. He was trying to fight off the poison but he was fighting a losing battle. We knew it now and so did everyone in Gryffindor Tower. Draco and Hermione gave Harry their potion but it was only a matter of time before Harry would die. While to be reunited with our son would normally have been cause for rejoicing both James and I grieved. The choice had been made and there was no turning back. We knew that and yet…He had barely known life and now he was leaving it behind. We knew this was the result of the choices we made sixteen years ago. Yet if we had known then what we knew now, still the choices would have been the same. There was no other choice we could have made to save his life except to have joined Voldemort and that would have been no choice at all. And so we grieved for lost hopes and dreams and for the line that was about to be forever severed with our son's death.

I floated down to where Harry lay and put my hand over his. I wished I could take some of the pain from him but knew it was not possible. I looked up and saw James standing at Harry's other side with tears standing in his eyes. The only thing left to us was to make sure that Harry knew we were there waiting.

"We are here. Don't be afraid. We will help you when the time comes," we whispered to him.

Harry's world was spinning out of control. His body burned, it felt as if he was being slowly eaten alive. Nothing he did would stop the pain that had become such a part of him. No matter which way he moved it was still there, following him everywhere he went. Bits of conversation drifted around him but he couldn't concentrate on anything for long, the pain was just too great. Rationally he knew he was dying but he couldn't help fighting it even now. He didn't want to die, not now. There was still too much left unfinished in his life. Then he felt a soothing coolness in his mouth that spread over his entire body and drove the pain before it. He felt cool hands on his and soft voices beckoned to him. He saw a bright white light and reached out toward it. He opened his eyes and saw his parents standing next to him, one on either side.

"Mum… Dad… Is it time?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

They nodded with tears in their eyes. Harry found he was crying too. He was so happy to be reunited with his parent and yet…

"Just a few moments more. There's something I need to finish or Draco will never be able to forgive himself."

They nodded.

For three nights a vigil had been held at Harry's bedside. The hero of what was being called the "Battle of Hogwarts" was dying. In all that time Harry had never once returned to consciousness nor did anyone expect that he would. Malfoy was sitting at his bedside, looking like a lost soul. Terrible grief and guilt warred within him, for he felt responsible for Harry's condition.

"I know you probably can't hear me but… I need to say this… or I'll never be able to forgive myself. I'm… sorry… for everything. For the things I said and did… I said things I never should have… that I now realize I never meant to say. I failed to understand the situation… your situation…"

"You're… forgiven…"

Draco's head jerked up and, through eyes red from crying, he saw Harry watching him with pain filled eyes. 

"Now… I want your…word… that you will… fight the coming darkness… in my place."

Malfoy nodded, though secretly he doubted that anyone would be able to take the place of Harry Potter, least of all him.

"You may not think you can take my place but you will," he said quietly but firmly.

"But Ron and Hermione…" Malfoy began.

"I named Ron as the heir to Gryffindor's powers and sword because he is of my house. I gifted Hermione with my cloak because of her wisdom and cunning. To you I left my most important and powerful gift. My wand and all its powers are now yours."

Harry looked at the wand hungrily for a moment then looked back up into Draco's eyes holding them with his of brightest green made brighter still by the fever that had taken hold of him and the tears that stood unshed in his eyes.

"The wand is very old and extremely powerful," he continued in an even stronger voice. "Even I haven't learned all of its powers, though in time I might have. I was once told that the wand chooses the wizard and my wand has chosen you to be its bearer now. A greater Evil then Voldemort is coming, the Greatest Evil. I can see it and you must be ready to fight it. The weapons I have passed to the three of you will aid in that coming battle and therefore they must be guarded. I chose you as guardians for this reason. Now take the wand and learn what you can of it. Fight the coming Darkness…"

Harry's voice dropped away as a new wave of pain worse then all the others hit him. He closed his eyes and his face became a mask of agony. Soon the wave passed and he opened his eyes again. He looked up at Malfoy with pain and sorrow reflected in his eyes.

"Promise…" he said weakly, reaching out toward the wand Malfoy still held until his hand was just touching it.

"I promise to fight this new evil with all my heart and soul. I also promise to guard this wand with my life and never surrender it to anyone."

Harry's wand began to glow with a soft red light, which faded slowly from its length, sparks shooting from the end of it. Harry's hand slipped from it and drawing a last ragged breath the "Boy Who Lived" died.

Malfoy looked down at his body and began to sob, the tears blurring everything around him. He felt someone put an arm around him and looked up to find Ron's tear stained face looking back at him. He heard a sob on his other side and saw Hermione standing there, holding one of Harry's limp hands in hers. All his grief came pouring out of him then and the three of them embraced trying to comfort one another. The next day the whole school learned of the death of Harry Potter. All of Hogwarts and the wizarding world mourned the death of a hero.

Our duty done we left the world behind us carrying the spirit of Harry with us to our final rest. He had chosen to stay on earth a while longer as a ghost. There was much still unfinished in his "life" and he knew that his help was still needed. A Darkness was coming, greater and more evil then Voldemort had ever been. Harry intended to be there to help fight it.

"Just because I don't live anymore doesn't mean I don't still care about what happens to my friends or the world I've left behind," he'd said with a grin.

With joy in our hearts we left him to his task and traveled to our rest. Who knows, maybe someday we'll even return when the time is right but for now all we desire is rest.

**Epilogue: **

_Be thee well_

_May the Lord who watches all watch over thee_

_May God's heaven be your blanket as you softly sleep_

**The Proposal/ The Night was Alive**

From the musical_ Titanic_

By Peter Stone and Maury Yeston.

_Still we are, have always been, will ever be as one._

**Friends Never Say Goodbye**

From _The Road to El Dorado_

By Elton John and Tim Rice

The funeral of Harry Potter and dedication of the monument to those slain in the "Battle of Hogwarts was attended by thousands. Hogwarts castle was still undergoing repairs and the grounds were a mess but the mourners ignored it all in the face of such deep and lasting grief and sorrow. Harry's flag draped casket was carried by eight bearers in house colors to a small rise in view of both the lake and castle. One by one each of the mourners passed by his casket in solemn parade, leaving gifts for him to carry with him to the grave. When the procession of mourners had passed Draco Malfoy rose from his seat and stepped to the podium. Over the last few days he had felt a change within him. He was beginning to feel things more then before and he renounced the Dark Arts forever He looked out over the sea of faces and tears glistened for a moment in his eyes. He bowed his head in an effort to control his grief, the deepness of which surprised him. He had felt for some days that he should be the one who spoke the eulogy and so he had volunteered to speak first. Tears were threatening to overwhelm his voice and his spirit. He raised his head, cleared his throat and looked at the faces below him once more.

"Harry Potter…" he began with a slight tremble in his voice. "Harry Potter was the bravest and best of all of us. His love for life knew no bounds. Because of the love of his parents and their ultimate sacrifice he became "The Boy Who Lived". Fame was granted him; fame for something he couldn't even remember. But fame was not what Harry desired nor did he feel it was his due. In his inmost heart he merely wanted to be known for himself not for the things he did. "The Boy Who Lived" is no more but let us remember him not just for the lives he has saved through his sacrifice but for who he was as a person: a friend, a companion, a rival, an encourager, a classmate and least of all a hero. Bravery, Loyality and Love were the virtues he claimed. These were the qualities that he held dear. Harry's spirit lives on wherever loyalty, bravery and love dwell. As long as each one of us carries these ideals in our hearts Harry's spirit will continue to flourish. May we all be led by his example. May our lives be a testament to his memory. Remember him today not only for his heroic deeds but for the person he was. May his spirit shine though each of us that the world may know how many lives he touched.

Malfoy sat down, tears streaming down his face while others took his place telling what they knew of Harry's life their emotions echoing their voices. Looking heavenward Draco wondered what would happen now. Where would he go and do now that his life had been changed forever, now that he felt his life leading him down a new, unexplored road. What about this new dark lord Harry spoke of on the night he died? 

All too soon the coffin was lowered and a final prayer was given for one whose spirit would be greatly missed. Slowly the other mourners left the gravesite until only three of them remained. Draco, Ron and Hermione stood over the grave with their hands over it chanting the protective spell that would seal it forever. Tears trickled down their faces to splash on the ground and they looked at one another. There were still tears in their eyes that ran down their faces. Quietly, almost reverently, the three of them clasped right hands over the grave and swore this oath, tears still falling from their eyes:

"In Harry's memory, we three pledge to defend this world, giving our lives if asked, against the rising tide of Darkness. We will use the weapons he left to us to aid us in the coming battle and guard them with our lives. This we swear to do in memory of the one who has been laid to rest in this grave. In his memory, we will do this and by his memory we swear this."

They unclasped their hands and turned from the unmarked grave, heading back to Hogwarts to pick up the shattered pieces of their lives and, for one, to build a better life then the one he had just left

Unknown to them there was a fourth hand clasped above their three living ones and the oath Harry swore had been quite different:

"I will guard, guide and aid you three in the quest I've left to you. I shall do all in my power to prepare you for the rise of this new and yet ancient evil. I do this because of the loyalty and love you have shown me."

The spirit who was Harry Potter watched as his two best friends and his former enemy walked back to Hogwarts. Wondering what the future might hold for them all, he followed them back to the castle, hoping against hope that they would be given enough time to prepare, for if they weren't there would be no stopping the rise of Seth-Ra.

Well, there it is **Final Confrontation** all in one place and revised. I'll be taking the individual parts down soon so please do Read and Review. Thank You. I should also have the next part of **In His Memory** and a Sirius Black songfic sometime this week or next. Watch for them. Enjoy reading this again if you want.

WeasleyTwin2


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